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Social Networks

Sites like Facebook and Twitter provide users with a place to share personal information with friends family and the public — an activity that's proven to be hugely compelling to Internet users. In response to the demand technology is evolving to encourage the disclosure of information that was formerly discreet (like location) and to enable the sharing of information even when not sitting in front of a traditional computer (like from mobile phones).

But it doesn't take much forethought to realize that there are countless privacy pitfalls in a world where a near-endless stream of personal bits is indiscriminately posted indefinitely stored and quietly collected and analyzed by marketers, identity thieves, and professional government snoops in America and abroad. The public controversies that have erupted to date — Facebook's drastic terms of service changes and Google Buzz's forced sharing of email contacts — are only the first snares in a rapidly growing thicket of social networking privacy issues.

Here are some of the ways EFF is working to protect your privacy as the use of social networks grows:

EFF has gone toe-to-toe with the government to uncover hidden details about how they use social networking sites for investigations data collection and surveillance.

“When it comes to terrorist content, it’s certainly a tricky position for companies, and one that I don’t envy,” said Jillian York, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s director of international freedom of expression, in an email. “Still, I worry that giving more power to companies—which are undemocratic by nature—to regulate speech...

San Francisco—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) will urge a federal appeals court Wednesday to reject Facebook’s claims that it’s a crime to workaround an IP address block—an interpretation of the law that could criminalize routine online behavior. EFF Legal Fellow Jamie Williams will participate in oral argument in the case...

In double-checking Hahn’s claims with Jeremy Gillula, staff technologist for the privacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, it appears that Vonvon is indeed playing it safe with user data. Most Used Words, and the company’s other quizzes, seem to be run within the web browser in JavaScript, which means the data...

To try and combat that problem, or at least make it more obvious, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EEF) has launched a new site called Onlinecensorship.org, in partnership with a company called Visualizing Impact, which is funded by a grant from the Knight Foundation. Jillian York, the EFF’s director...